[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them":3,"chapter-i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-chapter-342":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","I Transmigrated to the Northern Song with Them",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2319232,4535,"Chapter 342: The Five Women in the Crown Prince","i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-chapter-342",342,"\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Shou, who had personally participated in the Battle of Pingjin City, felt deeply moved, especially after hearing veteran soldiers recount how, in the early days of the Song, without Li Lin’s cannons or other firearms, they could only rely on defensive fortifications and sacrifice their lives just to barely repel Xia Army attacks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From a very young age, Zhao Shou and the other imperial princes and princesses knew that five women in the inner palace held status and authority unlike any other concubines—even his own mother dared not provoke them, let alone offend them. They were the five tyrants of the inner palace, ruling it with absolute freedom, enjoying more nights of imperial concubinage than any other, even surpassing his mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his childhood, Zhao Shou once feared that his father, Emperor Song Zhezong, having favored concubines over his empress and allowed Liu Qingjing to seize the empress’s position from Meng Xiang, might do the same to his own mother—deposing her and stripping Zhao Shou of his crown prince title to replace him with one of these five women’s sons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, seeing how deeply his father and mother loved each other, and how harmoniously these five women interacted with his mother, Zhao Shou finally put those fears to rest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then came the challenge from the sons of these five women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Di, Zhao Cun, Zhao Qing, and Zhao Tang were all outstanding among their brothers, each excelling since childhood in both literary and martial arts—never once losing to Zhao Shou. Especially his fourteenth younger brother, Zhao Tang, who not only never lost to him but remained relentlessly ambitious, almost openly declaring his desire to become crown prince.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Later, even the younger ones, Zhao Xing and Zhao Sheng, began to rise prominently among the next generation of princes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a child, Zhao Shou never understood what these five women had that made them so special—or what his father saw in them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only as he grew older did Zhao Shou come to understand:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yuan Qingcheng solved the problem of food scarcity for the Song and indeed all of humanity—her achievement benefited her generation and would endure for millennia; she was the greatest woman of this age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ma Xiao Jiao invented countless advanced machines and industrial materials, profoundly transforming the lives of the Song people and even altering the course of human progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ye Shi Yun not only authored the “Ye Shi Yun Medical Canon,” which saved countless lives, but also secretly managed the Song’s economy, becoming its de facto female god of wealth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Shou asked himself: if he had encountered these three women, he too would have granted them such privileges.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhao Shou did not know where he could find such extraordinary women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Notably, Zhao Shou knew of the abilities and contributions of Yuan Qingcheng, Ma Xiao Jiao, and Ye Shi Yun—but he was unclear about what Zhang Chun and Li Lin had accomplished. He only knew that his father always carried Zhang Chun and Li Lin wherever he went.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, Zhao Shou had heard rumors about Zhang Chun and Li Lin’s talents.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, Zhang Chun mastered the art of strategic forecasting and could serve as a military advisor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, Li Lin excelled in physical training and possessed certain military skills, allowing her to accompany his father in exercise and offer military counsel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only now did Zhao Shou learn that Li Lin’s invention—the Li Lin cannon—had become the Song Army’s decisive weapon, and that all firearm tactics were her creation; she now bore the title “Female War God.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Shou, who had personally tested and witnessed the devastating power of Li Lin cannons, Li Lin muskets, tiger squat cannons, thunder bombs, and explosive packs—and seen how these firearms completely overwhelmed the Jin Army—agreed that Li Lin deserved the title “Female War God.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Zhang Chun, who stood alongside Yuan Qingcheng, Ma Xiao Jiao, Ye Shi Yun, and Li Lin, and who accompanied his father daily, Zhao Shou believed she must possess extraordinary abilities as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard a soldier from the Hu Ben Army, who fought the Jurchens in open battle, say that even after deploying tiger squat cannons and thunder bombs, they only managed a stalemate—the Jurchen soldiers were masters of close-range assault, charging fearlessly to within arrow range, shooting one man down with each shot, terrifyingly effective. To defeat them, we must attack from afar with tiger squat cannons, divine-arm bows, and firearms, never letting them close. When they do, we blast them with thunder bombs. If they get too near, we must detonate the thunder bombs and charge to die with them—otherwise, victory is impossible.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then it becomes a bloody battle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even bloody battles must be fought. Dying in battle is honorable—the court will care for your family. To flee is to face military law without mercy—you will die, and bring shame upon your ancestors and make your wife’s life forever dishonored. It is utterly unworthy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Still, defending a city is best—you earn merit, receive promotion, and don’t have to trade lives for lives.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This is all thanks to His Majesty’s wisdom—he never recklessly chose open-field battles against the Jurchens just because our firearms were powerful and we had once defeated them in the field. Instead, he played to our strengths, using our superior method of shallow assault and fortification to gradually eliminate the Jurchens.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s why His Majesty is the wisest and most military-savvy ruler in all history!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing the soldiers speak so highly of his father, Zhao Shou felt an indescribable surge of pride and reverence. His pride came from the soldiers’ boundless admiration and affirmation—a genuine, heartfelt praise for a wise sovereign and a hero. He reflected inwardly: his father possessed not only extraordinary wisdom and courage in governance, but also profound and far-sighted military strategy—he had grasped the power of firearms, used them to neutralize the Jurchens’ savage battlefield dominance, and at the same time adopted the most prudent tactics, slowly eroding the Jin state. Such ability was beyond ordinary men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the same time, Zhao Shou silently resolved that if he could inherit even half of his father’s wisdom, he would surely be able to stand firm in this turbulent world and protect the Song dynasty’s realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this victory, after merely allowing the army brief rest and replenishment, Zhong Shidao commanded the Song Army to fully recapture Chenzhou, reopening the land corridor between the Liaodong Peninsula and the Liaoxi Corridor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after completing all this did the cautious Zhong Shidao send his victory report to Zhao Yu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Zhao Yu had already received news of the great victory at Pingjin City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhao Yu did not rush to announce anything; only after Zhong Shidao’s report arrived did he issue an edict ordering the Secretariat, in coordination with the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue, to swiftly verify the battlefield merits of frontline soldiers and issue promotions and rewards without delay, to boost morale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After court dismissed, Zhao Yu did not consult his ministers about the ancestral temple rites—he went directly to Ma Xiao Jiao’s Royal Scientific Research Institute on Wanshui Mountain in Genyue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, the Royal Scientific Research Institute, including researchers and artisans, numbered nearly ten thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These ten thousand people—men and women, young and old—were the scientific talents Zhao Yu had spent over a decade gathering from across the entire Song Empire, each a master in their field. Some excelled in mathematics, manipulating numbers with their fingertips to unravel complex data and deduce the laws of nature down to the minutest detail. Others understood astronomy, reading the stars and constellations as easily as reaching into a pouch, using the movements of sun, moon, and stars to determine seasons and directions. Some were masters of mechanical engineering—ordinary wood and iron, through their hands, became ingenious devices that saved labor, increased efficiency, or moved heavy loads. Others specialized in material innovation, smelting new metals from ores and extracting adhesives from plants, making tools stronger, tougher, and more practical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gathered together under Ma Xiao Jiao’s leadership, they verified each other’s work and inspired one another. Mathematics provided precise measurements for mechanical operation; astronomy guided seasonal scheduling and long-distance navigation; mechanical ingenuity transformed theory into practical tools; new materials broke the limits of previous designs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Furnace fires burned through the night; blueprints grew ever more precise. From improved farming tools to enhanced transport machinery, from instruments measuring heaven and earth to new smelting techniques, each small breakthrough gradually converged into a current—unawares, they had laid the foundation for the Song’s industrial revolution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over these years, voices praising Zhao Yu as wise and heroic had grown ever louder, nearly elevating him to the heavens.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Zhao Yu knew well: his own wisdom and heroism were chiefly due to two women—Yuan Qingcheng and Ma Xiao Jiao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The former solved the Song people’s most fundamental problem: survival.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That was the most important.\u003C\u002Fp>",1488,"2026-06-20T15:06:50.687Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","bfd130e0e97e830c44b204f4f160d56d9b007400c3a7e140a65bd21937bbfcde","i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-chapter-343","i-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-chapter-341",348,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fi-transmigrated-to-the-northern-song-with-them-cover.jpg"]